TiPb TV 4: Should you get an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPod nano?

Should you get an iPhone 4, iPod touch (2010), or iPod nano (2010)? Or more specifically, who should get an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPod nano? That's a question we get a lot from people considering their first iOS device or a second device for their family, and that's the topic for the fourth episode of our new, conversational video show, TiPb TV!

Rene and I go over the strong and weak points of each device, always on internet connectivity vs. the cost of a data plan, sleek and thin vs. smaller camera sensor, cheap and highly portable vs. no video and apps. Sure there's a lot of overlap but there are a lot of differences too.

Maybe you already have a phone or smartphone, maybe you need a phone or a second media player or workout music. If you're thinking of picking up a new iPhone, iPod touch, or iPod nano this holiday season -- for yourself or for that special someone -- then check out the latest episode of TiPb TV and we'll help you decide!

Senior Editor at iMore and a practicing therapist specializing in stress and anxiety. She speaks everywhere from conferences to corporations, co-host of Vector, Review, and Isometric podcasts, and should be followed on Twitter @Georgia_Dow.

Reader comments

TiPb TV 4: Should you get an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPod nano?

I seem to remember a comparison between what the average consumer who purchased an android device and people who bought an iPhone looked like. The iPhone user showed a businessman well dressed holding his iPhone proud. The android guy looked like a 35 yr old living in his moms basement. Old tshirt, pretty much a big geek. The picture above proves that entire article wrong. Thanks guys. Btw, I own iOS and Android. Both great devices.

@Geo
We were trying to stick to the iOS and iOS-looking devices. People who want Classic for the storage know they want classic for the storage. Likewise, people who want shuffle for the tiny size and price already know they want it. Those are the edge cases. We were trying to hit the middle.

My nine year old niece is getting a refurb nano 5th gen for Christmas. Her friends have the nano with the camera and that's what she wants too. I find the new nano so unappealing. I see no reason to have two iPods so small (the current shuffle and nano). I think they shold have stuck to the previous gen design with the camera. Does apple need to try to design everything so small that's it's nearly unusable?

In Steve jobs case. Yes.
I tested out the new nano and I also didn't like it. Pretty soon he's going to design something that will need to be recalled.
If he really wanted to kill off the click wheel why not do it in 2011. The ten year anvesery of the iPod.

Im one of those ppl that have an android device and just recently got an ipod touch. I figured it's best to keep my android device strictly business and work, while my ipod is for entertainment, games, etc for battery life and other reasons.

I own a Droid 2 and a 4th Gen iPod Touch. I use both for gaming, more so the iPod than my Droid. I like to use an iPod Touch for working out cause I don't like getting texts or phone calls during my work outs. That my me and stress relief time. I also have a lot of digital copies that I have from my Blu Rays so if I'm not driving or I'm on the Bike/Treadmill/Elliptical at the gym and I know I'm gonna be on there for a long period of time. A movie or TV show helps pass the time better than music for me sometimes, and I do it without killing my phone's battery. The battery life on the iPod touch is amazing!

What happened to the video quality on this episode? The last tow were much better. This is very grainy.
You joked about using an iPhone 4 to shoot it on the podcast, but I'm pretty sure it could have produced better results than this, at least.

@SolidRolid. I think their is a big difference between a 3.5" iPod Touch and a 9.7" iPad and that Apple could easily make a third product that would fall in the middle that would serve a certain market better. I believe in time they will. Steve Jobs likes to say one thing and do the opposite. This is the same reason that they have more than two sizes of laptops.

@Benjamin This was shot at the same time as the last episode, actually right before it, with the same lens, same camera setup, same everything. It was also edited the same.
Any difference in quality is either YouTube crushing it, or perceptive :)
We switched lenses to a new 35mm prime for the next two episodes, so we'll see how they do.
@SockRolid: Agreed!

they aren't exactly interchangeble. the issue is do you want a phone and the added cost of high priced monthly service? Do you want just a music player at a high price for a touch screen rather then a classic with tons of storage? or do you want something small like a nano, maybe for working out with that's not so heavy as to weigh you down like the others? that said the touch nano is crap for working out with. Good luck trying to work the touch screen while running. buy and old refurbed nano with the wheel and phsical button.

I know you really like using the one mic for the both of you set behind, but the sound quality really varies as you turn toward the camera and then each other. You'd be better off with head-worn mics or even lavaliers in the long run so you get rid of the room echo and get more consistent levels.
Just my two cents from a sound engineer and musician.

Honestly, if you already have a BB or Droid, especially one that's issued by your job, the iTouch is the best way to go. It does everything the iPhone does, minus the phone and constant connection. Even with no WiFi, there's a million apps you can download and use offline that still make it useful.
When you're at home/on a WiFi network, the performance and usability of this thing is just astounding, especially now with FaceTime, the cams, and OS4. I can't think of a better way to use $219.

Nov19mmfgamer5 Just a small word of warning I would not get this if you're using an iPod Touch 2G or below, or an iPhone 3G or below. Only use if you have an iPod Touch 3G (16GB or above) or 4G or iPhone 3GS or 4. If you have a lot of apps, then it it liekly to crash SpringBoard when you look at all of your apps and start scrolling through them. This is a brillient app/tweak/theme whatever you want to call it, but it takes up too much RAM to be used everyday on anthing below an iPod Touch 3G or iPhone 3GS.

Karen. Youre right about the Clinton administrations hand the ditasserous mortgage lending debacle. But dont be too quick to give W a pass. He claims he warned about such a practice. But he didnt do a whole lot to prevent it. Congress or not, he could have done much more to stop that failed policy. And as far as bailouts going to Obamas buddies; first it has to be said that these are Bushs buddies too. The whole practice was initiated in 1913 with the inseption of the Federal Reserve. History documents the fact that the FED is a cartel of private corporations created with the sole purpose of bailing out their cohorts, and squelching competition, all at the expense of tax payers both through income tax and more heinously through inflation. The reason the FED is sanctioned by the government, is because it gives politicians nearly unlimited spending power. You can read all the documented history in reader friendly print in the book, Creature from Jekyll Island, by G. Edward Griffin.